


Bad dreams, decaf coffee and sorcerer's supreme.

by authornotes



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Depression, Eventual Fluff, Intern Peter Parker, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:08:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22427599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/authornotes/pseuds/authornotes
Summary: Tony wakes up with one day and isn't better.He decides to change that by lunchtime.
Comments: 11
Kudos: 39





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic takes place sometime after Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, but before Thor: Ragnorok.  
> It's not Avengers friendly although that might change.

_Flashing lights, the sky opening into a span of nothingness. No air, void of all human life. And the endless feeling of falling, drifting without propulsion or direction. Getting farther away with each lack of breath. Earth, gone. Invasion, successful. Friends. Dead. Tony. Lost._

Tony awoke with a strangled gasp, lungs on fire and attempted to take in deep gulps of air. _He couldn’t breathe. No, he could. It had just been a bad dream. Another nightmare. Earth was safe. He needed to calm himself down. He had to breath._ “One,” he stuttered, gasping for more oxygen. His eyes searched his still dark room. One thing that was blue. His sweat soaked t-shirt. “Two,” Something small. His StarkPhone. “Three.” Tony made it to ten things before his breathing became less laboured and he could feel the bed beneath him. _It had just been another nightmare._ He was safe and home.

“J.A.R.V.I.S.?”

No answer.

_Right, J.A.R.V.I.S. was gone. Lost like everything else that mattered._

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.?”

Yes, boss?” His AI’s Irish voice replied.

“What time is it?” 

“5:34 am, sir. I detect from your voice pitch and my external body monitoring systems that you are coming out of distress from a nightmare. May I be of assistance?

Tony put his head in his hands. “Enact protocol: Morning After.”

F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn’t reply for a moment. “Of course, sir. Today is April 12, 20--. You are in the Stark Industries tower in your suite. It is 5:36 am. No intruders have been detected. All levels of the building and the surrounding perimeter are cleared. There is no imminent threat. The Mark XLVII is in top condition. The weather today is a balmy 63 degrees Fahrenheit.”

Tony tuned the A.I.’s voice out slowly as he came to himself. The light is his bedroom slowly turning on as the program continued. His breathing slowed, his fists unclenched and he slowly began to untangle himself from his blankets. _He was safe._

“Stark Industries’ employees are all accounted for.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. you can stop now.”

“Very well, Mr. Stark. Is there anything else I can help you with? Would you like me to dim the lights?”

“No, no it’s fine. I’ll get up now. Might as well.” Tony replied, taking stock of his form twisted in the blankets. He untangled himself and stretched. His limbs were stiff.

These types of ‘morning’ wake ups were more often than not. He was glad that F.R.I.D.A.Y. was there to calm him. Protocol Morning After had been a key-stroke of brilliance on his part. A much better alternative than F.R.I.D.A.Y. calling one of his emergency contacts or even letting the post nightmare anxiety continue into the workday.

\---

Eventual Tony made it out of bed and to the kitchen. There was a hot pot of coffee already bubbling away, courtesy of his A.I.’s system. It smelled delicious.

He headed over to the cupboard to grab a mug. Opening it, he reached in absentmindedly. His brain was still trying to process his latest nightmare. Today I will not have a meltdown. It wasn’t more than a second after this thought that Tony realized which mug he’d inadvertently grabbed. The memories engulfed him like it was yesterday.

_Tony had handed him the mug on a Tuesday. It was undisguised and unwrapped. Bruce had taken the mug and inspected it. It was a regular day. Nothing extraordinary. The mug was white with a large picture of the Hulk illustrated across it and big bold words proclaiming, “Hulk Smash.”_

_“A Hulk mug? Really, Tony? I didn’t even know they made these.” Bruce had said blandly, eyebrows raised. He held the mug up for closer inspection._

_Tony had grinned. “Just for you, Strongest Avenger.”_

_Bruce snorted, a smile threatening to crack. “Couldn’t have at least gone for a Bruce Banner mug? Wouldn’t that be a bit more appropriate. I don’t think the Hulk even drinks tea.”_

_He laughed. “But your face doesn’t sell as well.”_

_Bruce really did smile at this. “You’re probably right.” Tony could tell that Bruce loved it, but Bruce wouldn’t be Bruce if he said as much. His gaze softened a fractioned. “Thank you, Tony.”_

_Tony brushed this off, hands flapping. “Don’t mention it.”_

_“I mean it. Thank you for everything.”_

_Tony hadn’t been able to reply._

Tony blinked, reality settling back in. PTSD really was unhelpful. He needed to have words with Peter about putting those types of mugs on the shelf. He really should have just thrown them out after everything but Peter liked them.

_Maybe I’ll tell the kid that DUM-E broke them._

He wouldn’t do that, of course but it was a nice thought. The reminder of Bruce had only stung a little, much less than it had before and with less intensity than his current feelings for the rest of the Aven-them. Tony would do anything for that kid even keep a bunch of superhero themed memorabilia in his cupboard.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. must have been reading his vitals carefully because the A.I. piped up. “We could always replace them with Iron Man mugs.”

Now that was an idea.

Tony smiled slightly and set the mug down. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Replacing the superhero merchandize really wasn’t a half-bad idea. Maybe he could even give them to Peter as a gift? _‘Here kid, your childhood heroes used to drink out of these before they decided to go rogue and I had to call you in to beat them up._ Or maybe not. He wasn't sure that would go over well. Perhaps it would be best to ignore the problem for now. Tony didn't want to see the look on Peter's face if anything happened to them. Tony really was going soft in his old age.

He groaned, shaking his head. This wasn't a priority. He had better things to do with his day. _Like working in his lab._ He left the empty mug and headed out of the kitchen.

\---

Tony settled into his daily routine. The pattern soothing him back into something akin to calmness. He was glad he'd decided to ignore the problem of the superhero merchandize even if it meant heading back to his lab sans caffeine. Sure, he had access to coffee in his lab but it wasn't as good as the stuff in the kitchen. Recently, Pepper had decided that he needed to drink less caffeine. (This happened every few months.) She'd replaced his laboratory's beautiful, sexy espresso machine with a kettle and a container of instant coffee. She'd told him that he'd just have to manage on the instant stuff or start drinking tea. Today he'd just have to function on the instant coffee. _Yuck._ Even his faithful bots were betraying him by siding with Pepper and refusing to make him a cup. In fact, just last weekend he’d caught F.R.I.D.A.Y. discreetly trying to order him decaf online. He should donate them all to Starbucks. Maybe not Pepper. She was awesome. Even if she didn’t want him to drink less coffee. 

If things got really bad he supposed he could always buy energy drinks. Those things were toxic though. He would know, he’d once been poisoned by palladium. And the palladium hadn’t made him stay up all night and build a toaster. Why had he even done that again? Ugh, college had been a weird time. Good thing he’d had Rhodney to keep an eye on him.

He was now on his second up of sludge and was working on Spider-man’s latest suit upgrade. It wasn’t the R&D work that Pepper had requested but she’d have to wait. After Peter’s disastrous meeting with the Vulture, Tony had decided that both his and Spider-Man’s suits needed to be improved. 

He hummed to himself, pulling up the latest schematics for the Mark II Spider-man suit. Tony wished sometimes – _most times_ , that the kid would hang up the suit. But he understood his reasoning and the inner burning desire to protect and be helpful. He had that in spades himself. It would be easier though, if Peter was _just an intern._

 _We wouldn’t have met him without the Spider-Man suit._ His mind argued. _At least we’d know that he was safe and not getting beaten up by supervillains and robbers._ Tony often felt like a parent to the kid. He just hoped that he’d do right by him.

Tony took another gulp of his coffee, shuddering. _Disgusting._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get out first introduction to Doctor Strange and Pepper is a boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will be briefly see a flash forward of Earth. Mentions of time travel, infinity stones and potential spoilers for Infinity War/Endgame. You have been warned. Hope you enjoy!

**A few years in the future...**

Doctor Stephan Strange was having a conundrum. Tony was dead. Most would argue that one death in exchange for the survival of the universe was a win. He wasn’t so sure. Stephan had never much been one for losing. He always liked to win. He’d liked it as a surgeon and he liked it now as the Sorcerer Supreme. While logically he could admit that they’d won, he didn’t feel right about the price. There was always a price. Steven just thought that the universe should have asked for something else. Every time he closed his eyes Stephan would see glimpses of those billions of versions of the future he’d witnessed on Titan. Then he’d see himself telling Tony that it was it and he’d watch him die. Stephan had watched him die every day since he’d check for the probability of defeating Thanos. It was one thing for him to take his own life or to protect the innocent by ridding the world of the guilty. But Tony wasn’t bad. He wasn’t guilty. The only sin he’d committed was trusting Stephan to lead him to his own execution. It was like leading a lamb to slaughter and giving that lamb the weapon to kill himself.

He knew exactly what he had to do. He just didn’t like it very much. The Sorcerer Supreme sighed. This was it. It was time to bring Tony back.

**Present Day**

Tony was just wondering how his day could get even worse when the alarms in his workshop began to blare shrilly. He whirled around in his chair, hand out and repulsor already assembling itself from his wrist watch. He nearly dropped his hand in shock at what he saw.

There, barely three feet from him, a shimmering circle made of what looked like sparks had appeared. He was speechless. His armour came to him anyways. _This was not good._ Tony wondered if this was another one of Loki’s tricks. He hoped not.

Tony stood up into a fighting stance, his arm held out to prepare for anything. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., initiate lockdown.”

“Already on it, sir.”

A man began to step out of the circle. Tony felt all the blood rush out of his face. An image of the portal that had once hung over New York flashed before his eyes. He shook his head. He didn’t have time to break down like this. “Who are you?”

As the man stepped out of the portal, the portal disappeared as easily as it had appeared. He looked down at a gold band that was hovering over his skin, seeming not to be concerned with Tony’s weapons. “Right. Well that looks about right. I suppose there’s no better time to confirm though.”

Tony took a step towards the man. He wore a startling red cape which appeared to be moving using some advanced tech. Or magic? Tony wouldn’t put it past him. “What do you want? Who are you?”

The man looked up, blinking with a look of exasperation of his face. “Tony put down the weapon.”

Tony fired the blaster in his face.

\---

Tony was not having a good day. First he'd nearly had a panic attack in his kitchen and now this? He wondered what god he's pissed off in a previous life. Or this one, actually. It was probably Loki. He sighed. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about that possibility now. He would just have to deal with the problem at hand. And what a problem it was.

After he'd promptly knocked out the other man, he'd tied him up with some of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s best handcuffs. They'd managed to keep Loki in place at one point so he wasn't too concerned about the man escaping. He then dragged him to the room that he'd designed for Bruce and swiftly put him in the containment unit. Bruce's entire floor of the tower was meant to keep him in should the Hulk decide that he wanted to get all smash-y. It was the only way Tony had, at one point, been able to convince Bruce to even stay at the tower.

He could remember the conversation even now.

_"Tony, it's not safe. What if something happens and I hurt you and everybody else?" Bruce sighed._

_"We came up with V.E.R.O.N.I.C.A. together. We can do this too." Tony looked at him with a soft expression in his eyes._

_"Alright."_

_"Excellent." Tony smiled. "And for the record? I trust both you and the big guy."_

Tony shook his head. Who would have thought that the precautions that they'd built would come in handy for another reason? He probably should have expected it though. These types of things were always happening to him.

Tony turned his attention back to the unconscious man who was now handcuffed and tied to a chair in the containment unit. He looked through the enforced glass and observed him, he had been more concerned about getting the other man contained before, now he could take a closer look at the man's appearance.

Tony sighed. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., I don't think that our guest is going to be going anywhere soon. Could you start doing facial analysis now?"

"Already on it, boss."

\---

It hadn't taken long for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to identify him.

"Boss, his name is Doctor Stephan Strange. He was an M.D. and neurosurgeon at Metro-General Hospital. He has been inactive for over a year. He was in a near fatal car accident that greatly damaged his hands. Doctor Strange was reported missing at some point after this event. He has no apparent place of residence or income."

Tony tapped at his wrist watch and it expanded into a screen. Images begin to appear showing various reports of the accident, Doctor Strange's health record and various treatment plans.

"What's he doing in my building? Can you tell me that? And how did he go from severe nerve damage to something like magic?"

"I'm sorry sir. I have no idea. There are no reports of Doctor Strange after he first went missing. I will continue to look further."

"Thank you, Fri."

"My pleasure, sir."

\---

As it turned out, Doctor Strange was a very deep sleeper. Never taking his eyes off the other man, Tony had made himself a cup of tea from Bruce's old stash. Bruce wasn't exactly using it right now, okay? He'd then had grabbed himself a chair to sit in to bide the time until the other man awakened. Tony had just sat down with his steaming hot cup of tea when his phone went off.

Pepper's name and number flashed on the screen. Tony groaned. Pepper had the worst timing. He'd better ask answer her though or she might choose to show up there.

"Hello Pep."

"Tony, there you are!" Pepper sounded exasperated and relieved. "I've been trying to get hold of you for ages."

"Is something wrong?" Tony asked with concern. He hoped that she was alright. _Don't know what I'd do if something happened to her. She's Pepper. She's fine. Breathe Tony. She's talking to you on the phone. "Are_ you okay?"

"Me? I was talking about you. I got an auto-mated message from F.R.I.D.A.Y. that said you had initiated security protocols and shut down the tower."

Tony groaned. He'd forgotten that he'd written in code for that. After the Chitauri attack, Tony had wanted to make sure that Pepper would never be without information again. He didn't want her to one day walk into the tower and straight into a fight.

"Tony, are you evening listening to me?" Oops, looked like he'd zoned out for a couple seconds.

"Sorry, Pepper."

She made a humph noise. "It's fine. Now tell me what's happening before I march right over there."

"Aren't you in California right now?" Tony teased.

"I will fly. Don't test me Tony. I can tell when you're trying to hide something."  
  


"It's nothing Pepper, really. I just accidentally created ah," He wracked his brain for something that would be convincing but not too convincing that she'd make good of her threat and come visit him. "A small explosion. Minor really. I panicked and put the shields up."

The other side of the line was quiet for a few long moments. Tony wondered if she'd bought it. It wasn't exactly like he could tell her about Doctor Strange. She'd want to come investigate and Tony had so few friends left now. He didn't want to something to happen to her if Doctor Strange was dangerous.

"How big of an explosion?" Pepper inquired. "Are you hurt?"

"Fit as a fiddle." He assured her. "Not a scratch on me."

"Is there anyone there with you? Do you need help with clean-up? Will you be bringing the shields down now?" She asked.

Tony rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "I'm not alone, no. I don't need help for the clean-up. Dum-E and U are perfectly capable of tidying up after a small explosion." That was technically the truth. "There may have been a chance of vaporous toxins in the explosion so I wanted to keep everything locked down until I know for sure. They're not actually toxic to me. Not with the arc-reactor in my chest constantly clearing out poisons. But it's better safe than sorry."

"I suppose," Pepper said hesitantly. "I could stay here for a couple more days. If it's not an emergency then." Tony heard her sigh. "I have a few more meetings with board member's that I wanted to take before we begin the take-over."

"How's that going?" Tony asked. He hoped that he could distract her from asking more questions. "Did everyone go for it?"

Pepper snorted. "They've all been thrilled so far. Money is a powerful incentive and if we are successful in our merger then they'll have even more money than before. Everybody wins."

Tony grinned. "I love it when you call something a takeover but sugarcoat it as a merger. This is why I pay you the big bucks."

Pepper scoffed. "Please, they're practically begging us to come and save their company. They were the who started emailing us about this."

Tony laughed. It sounded weird. It was slightly hollow and forced. "You're a force to be reckoned with, Ms. Potts."

"Thank you, Mr. Stark." She teased. "Tony, I-" Tony stilled. He saw Doctor Strange stir slightly. He was waking up.

"Listen Pepper, I gotta go. Sorry," Tony said quickly. "I have got to deal with my minor explosion now. Bye." He hung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! Don't forget to leave a comment.

**Author's Note:**

> Next time: Tony has a big idea. We learn more about Peter and Tony's friendship. The bots are sneaky. Pepper deserves a reward. 
> 
> Eventual Tony Stark/Steven Strange. This fic is going to be a long one. I have so many ideas. Tags will be updated as characters appear and plot continues. Don't forget to leave a comment!


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